We can’t stress this enough: ANY kind of flyers work AND never assume someone is transferring ownership on the microchip when you adopt!

“Haha, he drew a stick dog, albeit the dog was the right color but still it was a stick dog.”

Joanne J. was helping hang flyers for a lost dog, and saw a hand drawn “lost dog” flyer for another dog. She decided to post it to the neighborhood page she is on; Lost & Found Cats & Dogs on the South/Southwest Side of Chicago, thank goodness!!!

I saw the post, and commented that I was going to reach out to the family, and help get their dog registered and posted with Lost Dogs Illinois. Turns out the phone number on the flyer was for the grandmother of the 7 year old boy that drew the lost dog flyer. She told me it is her daughter’s dog, and that her daughter is at work but that she would get “King” registered right after work. She also described King to me, told me he had been missing since Tuesday, 2/26, and that he was adopted from animal welfare a few months ago (turns out he was adopted from Chicago Animal Care and Control).

I posted this information to Joanne on the neighborhood page. Sue R. had commented there about a dog that was found that matched the drawing of the dog, and Vazquez P. commented with a match to a found dog at AWL! The description and date matched! This dog was named Tiger, so I messaged the grandmother, and she said, “yes, that was his name when he was adopted.” She said the dog sure looked like King!

The daughter, Christina, called me yesterday. She told me she assumed someone had taken King in because she knew he had a microchip so if he turned up at the police station or animal control, they would have called her. I spoke with AWL early Monday morning, and they told me they had contacted the owner registered on Tiger’s microchip by leaving a voicemail, but had not heard back. Christina gave me King’s microchip number and I was able to confirm that two companies still only had the previous owner information. Christina was planning to go to AWL after work.

Christina brought all her CACC adoption information with her to AWL. It included the paperwork that had the microchip number on it. “Tiger” was not listed with AWL on petharbor anymore as of Monday morning so she was concerned. She insisted that this was her dog, and after paying $160 to reclaim him, he is now home! I gave Christina the information she needs to update King’s owner information to her, so this doesn’t happen again.

Great job on making that flyer Joell! We are proud of you!!! You got your dog back home to you!

Thank you to Joanne J., Sue R, and Vazquez P. from King’s family: “Seriously! I wouldn’t believe it if it hadn’t happened to me. I can’t thank you enough. You guys do amazing work, you found a dog from a stick figure picture! “Thank you so much for your help! I never would have found him!!!

This was Sadie, a dog who was being transported from one state to another. She managed to escape from the transport during a break at a truck stop.

Last Friday one of our LDI volunteers was devastated by witnessing a lost dog hit by a car and dying in her husband’s arms.

The local animal rescue, IVAR, stepped up to the plate and immediately took action to bring Sadie back safely.

They used every avenue available to achieve this goal.

Sadly, after a five day effort to capture her, she was hit by a car and lost her life.

We cannot bring Sadie back but her story may help others.

Rest in peace beautiful girl. You were loved.

When we lose one of these transport dogs it is devastating to all parties involved. The rescues & shelters, the search teams, the transporters, the foster waiting for their arrival and even the person who hit the dog – all have to deal with the loss.

Too many dogs are being lost during transports. We need to do better.

Here are the some questions we would like to ask transport groups, shelter and/or rescues to consider before transporting dogs:

Does the dog have proper equipment to keep him safe?

Is the dog microchipped and has a visible id tag on the collar with a current phone number?

Does the dog really need to be exercised?

Is every effort being made to minimize the loss when transferring the dog from one car to another?

Are dogs being transported in crates with no free movement in the car?

Are the transport team members or volunteers educated on the proper and safe handling of the dog?

Are they given all information available on the dog – ie: Is the dog an escape artist, afraid of certain sounds or noise, afraid of people or other dogs?

Maybe with more effort placed on education and transport safety we can reduce the losses suffered and get more of these wonderful dogs to the new life they deserve.

Dogs lost in rural areas can pose extra challenges because of the sparse population. It is not unusual for sightings to be few and far between or for there to be a long physical distance between sightings. It can also be difficult to get sightings when crops are tall or on roads where the majority of people are just passing through and driving fast.

Why do lost dogs like rural areas?

Scared lost dogs will often gravitate to a farm where it is quiet and there is a reliable food source like outdoor cat food or spilled grain. Farms provide a multitude of hiding places. Lost dogs will hide in sheds, old barns or under old farm machinery and creep out at dusk and dawn to eat. If the dog isn’t bothering livestock, farmers may let the dogs hang around indefinitely. But they may not proactively look for an owner because they assume that the dog was “dumped” off at their farm.

Therefore it is VERY important to flyer every farm in at least a 20 mile radius of where your dog went missing. Talk to the land owners and put a flyer in their hands. Ask them if they have seen your dog hanging around or passing through. Expand the radius to 30 miles or more if you don’t get a sighting. Use Google Maps and Satellite Photos to look for roads that you may have missed. Make it EASY for people to contact you by making sure that they have a copy of your flyer in their truck or on their fridge.

Also:

Deliver several copies of your flyer to any equine or farm animal veternarians in the area. Ask them to pass them out to their employees and post one in the lobby for clients coming through the front door.

Deliver several copies of your flyer to every equine facility in the area. Ask that they be passed out to boarders, trainers, farriers (blacksmiths), etc. who may routinely travel the route to and from the facility.

Give copies of your flyer to all local delivery people including UPS, Fed Ex, United State Postal Service, garbage pick up services, feed delivery, propane and diesel fuel delivery, septic services, etc. These people travel the back roads and need to know who to call if they see your dog. Don’t expect them to proactively report a sighting without a flyer in their hand. They may not have time to look through listings or post to social media.

Deliver flyers to all farm equipment dealers, farm supply stores and feed stores in the area. Ask to post one at the counter and on any bulletin boards.

Post a flyer at any local gathering places such as coffee shops, diners and taverns.

Deliver flyers to the school bus drivers in the area.

Ask farmers and hunters to check their game cameras for photos of your dog. Leave them a flyer so that they know who to call if they get a photo a week or a month from now!

Pay close attention to places where you see outdoor cats. There is probably a food source that your lost dog may also be visiting. Check for tracks or ask permission to set up a trail camera to monitor.

A small percentage of the still missing dogs are probably sadly deceased. BUT, we do know that a body is usually found and we encourage all owners to not give up unless they have confirmed physical evidence that their dog is deceased. By far and away, our largest single cause of death is dogs that have been hit by a car (usually when they are being called or chased by well-meaning but misinformed citizens who do not know that you should never chase or call a scared lost dog). Our next most common cause of death is being hit by a train. Scared lost dogs will use the path of least resistance, and railroad tracks often provide a convenient route of travel between their hiding places and food sources. Unfortunately, some dogs are killed when the train comes, but again, a body is almost always found. Our third most common cause of death is drowning; either by falling through thin ice, or by making a poor decision and bolting towards a body of water. Lost dogs that are not being chased, approached or pressured will make wise decisions and may survive indefinitely. Dogs that are being pressured or pursued will make poor decisions and may meet an untimely end.

Many people fear that their dog has been eaten or killed by coyotes. We do not find this to be common and very few of our deceased dogs have evidence of being killed by a predator. Is it impossible? No. But dog/coyote altercations are almost always territorial (the dog is defending his yard or his territory) and scared, lost dogs are not territorial. They will defer to a larger predator. Lost dogs simply want to survive – so they need to do three things – they will hide from predators (including man) and they will spend their time sleeping and traveling between their food sources and hiding places. If a dog is killed by a larger predator – the body will usually be found. Predators do not tend to eat other predators and all members of the canine family are predators.

Where are the other still missing dogs? Some are still “out there” as described above. Scared and living in “survival mode”, these dogs may be rarely seen because they have become so adept at hiding and may be mostly nocturnal. Eventually they will start to hang around one or more reliable food sources (often a farm that is leaving food out for outdoor cats). If they are left alone they will become more domesticated and may be seen during daylight hours or even attempting to play with neighborhood dogs or farm dogs. This is why it is SO important to continue to flyer in an ever-increasing radius of where your dog went missing from. Somebody, somewhere WILL see your dog and they need to know who to call when they do.

Some of our still missing dogs wandered far beyond their “jurisdiction”, out of the flyered area, and end up in the maze of animal sheltering and animal control. They may have been adopted to a new family or put down when their 7 day stray hold was up. These are a heartbreaker for us because the simple of act of posting pictures on line of impounded found dogs would bring most of these dogs home. Our dedicated volunteers and fans scour the internet watching for possible matches but they cannot do this when there are no pictures available. Many Illinois shelters still do not reliably post pictures of impounded found dogs. Please ask them to do so. It is perhaps the simplest way to save lives and free up shelter space for those dogs that truly need it.

The last component (and probably the largest) are lost dogs that have been picked up by a Good Samaritan who meant well but then kept or rehomed the dog without searching for the owner. Of course, this is illegal in Illinois, but it happens all too frequently. The current “rescue” phenomenon that is sweeping our country has kind -hearted people making false assumptions about the owners of a dog they find. They speculate that the dog has been abused, neglected or “dumped” and needs a new home. We have great success when we can get the finder to file a report with us so that we can post a flyer online. This serves to dispel the false notion that people that have lost their dog don’t deserve him/her back. We ask all of our fans to please spread the word to their friends, family and neighbors – Lost dogs don’t need a new home. They just need to go home. Do not assume that you can keep a dog that you find. He/she is somebody else’s personal property and keeping him/her is illegal.

Thank you for helping us. Please take a few moments, scroll through our missing dog albums, and maybe, just maybe we can help reunite a few more of these dogs in 2019.

If you don’t mind I want to share a story with you. It’s not a Illinois dog but a Mississippi dog. Not sure if you saw the post I originally shared on my page. A kind soul was traveling and found a shepherd mix in Bilxo MS, who a stranger in the parking lot said the dog was roaming for almost a month, so the finder brings him to a shelter in Altanta Ga as it was late at night when he found the dog and had to get to GA. That shelter scanned and found a chip but no owner registered so sent him on his way as they couldn’t take the dog.

He brings the dog to Chicago but can’t keep him so puts out a post to find him a new home. He had over 150 messages to take the dog, so I made it my mission to try and find this dog’s family. I called the shelter King was adopted from in May 2011 Jackson County Animal Shelter in Gaultier MS (the info I found out from the chip). Mind you his chip now had an alert on it as being found. After conversation the shelter & I began with messaging so I could share the video and the info from the chip. They called me and said what would you like us to do. I said I don’t expect you to give me the owner information as I know you can’t but please contact the owner and the finder, Fredo. I gave them his number.

Motions were set and this boy is going home to his true family. In the meantime I found a lost post for him, he was only missing less then a day when Fredo found him (again bad info from “strangers” can be so misleading to finders, who now think a dog has been roaming for a month!). Turns out the son who made the lost post, had made a promise to his dad that he would love on and take good care of King, as his dad was dying and just recently passed. Poor King was probably looking for his dad, who I found out always took him in the car to this restaurant where he was found at to pick up food. Fredo in the meantime gave him to a woman, thankfully a good woman who knows he’s not hers to keep. I shiver to think had Fredo not friended me and accepted my messages poor King would of been lost from his family forever. ! Here’s the lost ad I found on King in the meantime while I was in the process with the shelter:

Ebony is a rescue dog with Placing Paws Rescue, where I am a volunteer. She was adopted out and escaped from her new owners house less than a week after being adopted. I live close by, and as soon as she went missing me and other Placing Paws volunteers were out. We put up flyers like crazy, fielded sightings, walked for miles talking to people, feeding stations were set up with cameras.

Eventually a pattern emerged and we were able to figure out what to do and where. Placing Paws spared no expense in finding her, and I was NEVER going to give up on her until she was found. It was exhausting, hard work, but to me, and Placing Paws, worth every second. When she was caught ( in a live trap) she was loaded up and went straight to the vet to be checked out. She has a nasty gash in her shoulder which had already started healing and a fever, but she will be fine 🙂

We are lucky because we are a pretty tight, dedicated rescue group who truly love our animals. A true team effort. Thank you for all you do to help get these fur babies home !!! 🙂

I had been under the understanding that Chicago Animal Care and Control Return to Owner actually meant “stray” return to owner. Little did not I know it included other categories which CACC considered return to owner.

This is my statement to the Commission members of Chicago Animal Care and Control on July 19th.

My name is Susan Taney, Director of Lost Dogs Illinois. Lost Dogs Illinois is a not for profit organization that helps citizens find their lost dogs and Good Samaritans find lost dog’s owners but we also work with Animal Controls to increase their Return to Owner rate and decrease their stray intake.. We have typically defined Return to Owner as the percentage of stray or lost dogs who are brought in to CACC which are reunited with their owners.

I would first like to address the return to owner statistics. I’ll refer to it as RTO from here on in. This year on CACC’s website I noticed that in the month of March the RTO statistics were split into categories: strays that were reunited with their owner and other dogs that were returned to their owner for other reasons. (to give you examples: dogs surrendered and the owner changed their mind or evictions or owner went to hospital so these were “return to owner” ). In all the discussions we had with CACC we assumed we were on the save wavelength and only referring to the strays that were reunited with their owners. Also, I noticed that there was a whole new description about the live release rate and other definitions in regards to statistics. With that in mind, the RTO statistics that I have reported to both CACC and the public have been wrong and are not as positive as I thought they were. Never was there any indication with discussions with any of the directors and staff that RTO included not only strays but the other categories I mentioned earlier, as well.

So I am going to now tell you the actual number of stray dogs reunited with their owners for three months in 2017 compared with what I wrote about on our website and Facebook page in which I gave praise to CACC for their stellar improvement.

June, 2017 45% actual 33%

July, 2017 42% actual 31%

August 2017 53% actual 33%

I am very disappointed and disheartened about this discovery in regards to the statistics.

Stray intake has been consistently been at 60%. Progressive animal controls are taking a hard look at stray intake on how to decrease it. At the last commission meeting I attended, I made suggestions.

I don’t know who the new Director will be but I am truly hoping the new Director will try to fix the broken animal control system in Chicago with being a leader in the field which will expand to Cook County.Obviously the Live Release Rate has increased but the actual animal control system needs to be addressed, supported by the mayor and public and brought into the 21stcentury.

Thank you for your time.

Below listed are the actual statistic posted on the CACC’s website.

Below are the actual statistics that I FOIA’d. What is FOIA? The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a United States federal law that grants the public access to information possessed by government agencies. Upon written request, U.S. government agencies are required to release information unless it falls under one of nine exemptions listed in the Act. As a citizen you have the right to request information possessed by government agencies.

Lost Dogs Illinois has been helping Chicago Animal Care & Control (CACC) with dead end microchips, microchips that no long have current contact information. CACC staff do the best they can, but It is sometimes impossible to find an owner using the available information and given time constraints. However, Lost Dogs Illinois has volunteers who can dedicate hours to tracing disconnected phone numbers and researching online to find relatives of the owner. Sometimes this all comes together in a way that brings tears to your eyes.

A sweet old senior Boxer recently ended up at CACC. The microchip was not registered, but information showed the dog had been adopted out by Anti-Cruelty and they had owner information. It turned out the two owners had split and the girlfriend kept the dog. We reached the boyfriend. He discussed it with his ex and they decided their dog would be better off with him. Needless to say that senior Boxer is now safe at home. The Boxer did not need a home, the Boxer needed to go home! If you would like to learn sleuthing skills to get lost dogs home or if you know a shelter who would like this free service, contact this page.

When a dog goes missing, the first reaction of most people is to rush out and search for the dog, calling his/her name and combing the area. Even though it may seem counterintuitive, you should not send your friends and family members on a wild goose chase, or in this case a wild dog chase, through the streets. Looking for a lost dog by wandering or driving through the streets and neighborhoods is like looking for a needle in a haystack. And, a dog who is approached by someone he/she doesn’t know well may get scared and run even farther from home, or worse yet, into traffic.

Instead, ask your family and friends to help you distribute flyers. Create your free flyer from our software partner, Helping Lost Pets, print out a stack of them and ask your helpers to get busy spreading the word that your dog is missing. Start nearest to the location to where your dog was last seen and expand the radius outward. The photo on your flyer should be a clear, full body shot of your dog. You have a good photo of your dog stored on your phone don’t you? If not, do that TODAY, in case your dog goes missing tomorrow. Helping Lost Pets allows you to create several different versions of your flyer so that you can reduce printing costs, or incorporate pull-off tabs with your phone number on them. You can even create flyers in different languages from the Helping Lost Pets website.

In our experience, the number one way that lost dogs are found is by generating sightings through the distribution of flyers. More often than not, a dog is reunited with their family because someone has reviewed a flyer sees the lost pet, and calls the dog’s owners.

Don’t Chase or Search! Instead use flyers to generate that ONE sighting you need to help bring your dog home.